New CHP commander takes helm in Jamestown

Lt. Malkiat “Sam” Samra is stepping into his dream job in taking over as commander of the Jamestown California Highway Patrol office, he said.

Samra, 48, who replaces Lt. Mike Ayala, will earn a salary of $130,000 annually.

Ayala retired at the end of June.

Samra comes from, most recently, the Modesto CHP office, where he was an administrative and field operations lieutenant. The move to Jamestown marks the first time he has served as a commander.

Samra grew up in the Livingston area, which is where he entered law enforcement as a reserve officer for the local police department. He later became a police officer for Merced College.

He held several other jobs, including one with the Merced Sun Star newspaper as a mailroom clerk before he entered the CHP in Sacramento in 1982.

Samra joined the Highway Patrol in 1983 in San Jose. From there he went to Los Banos, where he met Ayala.

He has since served at a variety of CHP offices in Northern and Central California, including Sacramento, Visalia, Marin and Dublin. His duties included acting as public information officer first in Merced and then at headquarters in Sacramento.

For the past seven months, he was in Modesto. He has a wife and three children, ages 16, 25 and 26.

Ayala encouraged Samra to apply for the commander position.

Samra’s family has long visited the area for camping, fishing, wine tasting and festivals.

“This place was always a fun family place,” he said.

His plans are to get to know the area better and meet members of the community, he said.

Traffic safety is the CHP’s first priority, he said. He will work with his office to bring down the number of collisions and fatalities in the county, he said.

“The community shouldn’t expect anything less from us,” he said.

The office recently received an extension through September of a Highway 108 grant geared to cut down on collisions on the highway corridor. It provides money for extra patrol of the highway and educational materials.

Samra will also select the new spokesman for the Jamestown office, following Officer Tom Wills’ retirement at the end of June.

Samra hopes to make a selection before the end of the month.

He said has been impressed with the Jamestown office staff members, who seem to take pride in the office and area.

“That is something that I want to make sure and continue,” he said.